What happens if kite bladder fails out on the water?

Now that I know I have a bladder problem with my (older) kite, I wonder what are the consequences of a failed bladder while on the water? If I lose a strut

Message 1 of 3
, May 10, 2004

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Now that I know I have a bladder problem with my (older) kite, I
wonder what are the consequences of a failed bladder while on the
water? If I lose a strut bladder completely, or if it partly
deflates and becomes floppy, what happens to kite performance? Does
it jellyfish more in lulls? Turn more slowly? Become less
controlable?

What happens if the leading edge bladder blows or leaks and beocmes
soft? Will the kite still hold its shape as long as it's full of
wind, or will it collapse?

I'm wondering if a bladder blows, am I automatically in for a swim or
can I kite back to shore as long as I don't crash the kite?

--John Kim

Kite Power (Sydney)

Hi John The Cabrinha bladders in that model are faulty, they are made from a material that is apparently attractive to certain bacteria, and they eat the stuff

Message 2 of 3
, May 11, 2004

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Hi John
The Cabrinha bladders in that model are faulty, they are made from a material that is apparently attractive to certain bacteria, and they eat the stuff so that small pinholes appear all over the bladders. I saw it in some other brands of bladders too, around that time.
It is probably worth calling Cabrinha dealers to see if they have any replacement bladders laying around. Failing that go to a big shop with the faulty bladders and match them to the bladders from another brand. Replacemements can be too big in diameter, and excess length can be trimmed with a bag sealer.
There is a mod you can do to the tips to make the kite steer better, but It was only worth doing on the bigger kites, the 7 should be ok to fly.
If you leading edge goes flat the kite will not fly, it more than one strut goes flat the kite can misbehave, and may not fly, especially if more than 2 are flat.
Search around you will find something to replace them, for sure.
Cya and
Goodwinds
Steve McCormack
www.kitepower.com.au

Now that I know I have a bladder problem with my (older) kite, I
wonder what are the consequences of a failed bladder while on the
water? If I lose a strut bladder completely, or if it partly
deflates and becomes floppy, what happens to kite performance? Does
it jellyfish more in lulls? Turn more slowly? Become less
controlable?

What happens if the leading edge bladder blows or leaks and beocmes
soft? Will the kite still hold its shape as long as it's full of
wind, or will it collapse?

I'm wondering if a bladder blows, am I automatically in for a swim or
can I kite back to shore as long as I don't crash the kite?

I had the same problem with my 21m BT about two years ago. Cabrinha would not provide free replacements either but I was able to get them at cost from one of

Message 3 of 3
, May 12, 2004

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I had the same problem with my 21m BT about two years
ago. Cabrinha would not provide free replacements
either but I was able to get them at cost from one of
their distributors in South Florida. They were the
2002 bladders and I had to pay about 1/2 of what they
would normally cost. You may want to try to contact a
local distributor to see if they would offer you some
kind of discount before purchasing elsewhere.

Also, when you insert the new bladders make sure the
the kite is very dry and super clean (no sand or other
debris). Be sure to use alot of talcum powder prior
to putting in the bladders and inflate them about 3/4
full a few times to make sure they are in properly
without any twists.
I
--- "Kite Power (Sydney)" <sydney@...>
wrote:

> Hi John
> The Cabrinha bladders in that model are faulty, they
> are made from a material that is apparently
> attractive to certain bacteria, and they eat the
> stuff so that small pinholes appear all over the
> bladders. I saw it in some other brands of bladders
> too, around that time.
> It is probably worth calling Cabrinha dealers to see
> if they have any replacement bladders laying around.
> Failing that go to a big shop with the faulty
> bladders and match them to the bladders from another
> brand. Replacemements can be too big in diameter,
> and excess length can be trimmed with a bag sealer.
> There is a mod you can do to the tips to make the
> kite steer better, but It was only worth doing on
> the bigger kites, the 7 should be ok to fly.
> If you leading edge goes flat the kite will not fly,
> it more than one strut goes flat the kite can
> misbehave, and may not fly, especially if more than
> 2 are flat.
> Search around you will find something to replace
> them, for sure.
> Cya and
> Goodwinds
> Steve McCormack
> www.kitepower.com.au
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: John F. Kim
> To: ksurfschool@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 4:38 PM
> Subject: [ksurfschool] What happens if kite
> bladder fails out on the water?
>
>
> Now that I know I have a bladder problem with my
> (older) kite, I
> wonder what are the consequences of a failed
> bladder while on the
> water? If I lose a strut bladder completely, or
> if it partly
> deflates and becomes floppy, what happens to kite
> performance? Does
> it jellyfish more in lulls? Turn more slowly?
> Become less
> controlable?
>
> What happens if the leading edge bladder blows or
> leaks and beocmes
> soft? Will the kite still hold its shape as long
> as it's full of
> wind, or will it collapse?
>
> I'm wondering if a bladder blows, am I
> automatically in for a swim or
> can I kite back to shore as long as I don't crash
> the kite?
>
> --John Kim
>
>
>
>
>
> If you are new to kitesurfing, please visit
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